TAKE charge. It’s a simple enough message for a political government dealing with a messy problem. But, six months since Pakistan closed the Nato/ Isaf supply route, it is a message that needs to be digested by the PPP-led government. Up to a point, it is perhaps understandable why the federal government is reluctant to take the lead in stabilising ties with the US. The government had virtually surrendered the national-security and foreign-policy domains to the security establishment soon after President Zardari came to power. The strong response to the Salala attacks, including the supply-route closure, was orchestrated by the security establishment. And with elections approaching, the opposition up in arms and anti-Americanism in the public threatening to boil over, the temptation to sit back rather than to lead from the front would have been strong.

Ultimately, however, there are at least three reasons for the PPP to finally show some leadership on the issue of resetting ties with the US. One, there is genuine space for the civilians to manoeuvre at the moment. Whether by force of circumstance or by choice, the army-led security establishment seems unlikely to wield a veto over a deal hammered out by the government with the Americans at the moment. There are still some army red lines over the frequency of drone attacks, the quantum of aid and US assistance and the exit strategy in Afghanistan but those seem unlikely to be rejected in totality by the Americans. There is a middle ground to be found here. Second, the moral argument: the civilians were elected to lead and having seen off all manner of challenges over the past four years, the government ought to demonstrate to Pakistanis and the world at large that democracy here is also about genuine civilian leadership on tough policy matters.

Third, worrying about the backlash from the right-wing, be it the Difa-i-Pakistan Council or assorted religious and quasi-religious parties, has never done any good to the PPP’s ruling prospects. From the time of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto through to the two terms of Benazir Bhutto, if there’s anything the PPP ought to have learned it is that appeasing the right-wing only emboldens them, and never benefits the PPP. True, there are coalition allies to worry about but they are unlikely to create serious trouble on the Pakistan-US front. A focused resetting of ties with the US is in our interest. The space exists for it. The PPP needs to step up its performance and lead. The transition to democracy will never get very far unless the civilians exercise leadership.